Giants' Chris Canty is 'absolutely' ready to return to practice next week

Chris Canty has been on the PUP list after offseason knee surgery.William Perlman/The Star-Ledger

Up this week for the Giants is a rematch of the NFC Championship Game, a contest with the San Francisco 49ers that promises to be a tough, physical game.

It's the kind of game for which defensive tackle Chris Canty longs to be on the field.

"To have the opportunity to go into that type of environment and compete on that stage against that level of competition, I mean any competitor worth his salt wants the opportunity to do that," he said. "That’s kind of a bummer that this one is not a week later."

Canty has been on the physically unable to perform list after undergoing offseason knee surgery. Canty said his knee feels "great," and he will "absolutely" begin practicing as soon as he is allowed to, which is after this week's game at San Francisco.

Players on the PUP list must sit out their team's first six games. After that point, they have a three-week window to begin practicing, followed by a three-week window to be added to the 53-man roster.

"I wish I could be available for this week," Canty said. "I feel like, as I do in all instances, I could help our football team. But that decision has been made a long time ago, and I just look forward to next week."

Canty said he was frustrated for about a week after the team placed him on PUP. He said his knee felt better at the start of the season than it did down the stretch of last year's Super Bowl run. But he also admitted that his knee feels even better now than it did at the start of the season.

Canty said he'll be physically ready to help the team in Week 7, but he "can't make any guarantees" as to when he'll be added to the active roster.

He admitted he'll have to push through as he gets back into football shape, but the 8-year veteran added, "my skill set and my experience will bode well for me transitioning back into playing." He said he's tried to address that in his conditioning, incorporating sets with shorter recovery time. He's also lost 10 to 15 pounds to get leaner.

The Giants' pass rush has been sluggish so far this season, yielding just eight sacks through five games, 24th-best in the league. Canty hopes his return can be a boost.

"It’s kind of like when you have all your pieces in place, there's just something about the chemistry of it," he said. "Understanding how each one of us works together; we got used to that last year. When you have to make some adjustments on the fly because you don’t have some certain guys available, it’s tough. But hopefully when I come back, we can kind of get things back to the way they used to be around here."

* * *

Former Rutgers running back Joe Martinek, who signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in April but was cut in the preseason, wrote on his Twitter account that he's back. Martinek is expected to be signed to the Giants' practice squad tomorrow, a person with knowledge of the expected move confirmed. That person requested anonymity because the move is not yet official.